Hà Nội will not charge motorbike drivers to enter the city

HÀ NỘI — Hà Nội will not charge a fee for motorbikes travelling into inner-city areas, said Vũ Văn Viện, director of the city’s Department of Transportation.

The city has a plan to restrict motorbikes in a number of central areas and ban them from Belt No 3 by 2030, Viện said at a press conference on Thursday.

Hà Nội’s proposal to collect free from private vehicles that enter congested areas across the capital is part of its ongoing effort to unclog roads and reduce pollution that has been approved by the Government.

Regarding to the vehicle charge, he said Hà Nội planned to collect fees from car driver, but the level of fees depended on the scope of pollution levels and the congestion of the areas.

According to Viện, sorting fee collection by area aimed to ensure normal travelling for people in the inner city and connectivity between the city and neighbouring provinces and cities.

He said that the target of the project was not to increase budget revenues but to help people choose the most reasonable route. This would help meet travelling needs and reduce traffic in the city.

He also said an automatic toll collection system would be adopted for cars travelling into the inner city.

Once the project’s detailed plan is completed, it will be put forward to the municipal People’s Council and then submitted to the Government for approval by the end of next year, he said.

It is estimated that Hà Nội will have over six million motorbikes and 800,000 cars clogging its roads by 2020.

Those numbers will continue to climb, and could hit 7.5 million motorbikes and 1.9 million cars by 2030, threatening to worsen the city’s already poor air quality. — VNS